UNICEF launches new appeal to support refugee and migrant children in Europe

UNICEF is appealing for US$14 million to assist refugee and migrant children in Europe

UNICEF is appealing for US$14 million to assist refugee and migrant children in Europe, following an 80 per cent increase in the number of children on the move into the continent – many escaping conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

A total of 133,000 children sought asylum in the European Union between January and July 2015 – an average of 19,000 children every month, according to the latest available Eurostat data. One in every four asylum seekers is a child.

UNICEF is also offering assistance to European governments so that their policies and procedures with regard to refugee and migrant children are always implemented in the best interests of children, and in line with internationally accepted standards.

UNICEF also emphasizes that its humanitarian programs in Syria and neighboring countries, where together some 7.6 million children are in need of assistance, remain seriously unfunded. Of the US$903 million required for 2015, only about half of that amount has been secured so far this year.